


Learning to Love It

by Erika (Aeiouna)



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-16
Updated: 2012-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-31 07:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/341237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeiouna/pseuds/Erika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick hates Valentine's Day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning to Love It

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Anti-Valentine's Day challenge at popsoundboard on LiveJournal.

"You know what's coming up, right?" Brian cooed into Nick's ear as they were cuddling in bed before going to sleep.

"Mmm my baby's birthday," Nick responded without skipping a beat, "And I have something special planned."

Brian chuckled and placed a kiss to the back of Nick's neck. "This is true, but that's not what I was referring to. There's something else that comes before my birthday."

Nick thought about it, and once he realized what Brian was talking about, he swallowed a groan. Valentine's Day was far from Nick's favorite holiday. This was going to be the first year he wasn't either single, or in a relationship that ended soon after, or was toxic, or wasn't worth the time and energy. And even though Brian was different, Brian was special, that didn't change the fact that Nick had become so _jaded_ that Valentine's Day had lost all meaning for him. It didn't help that Brian was a romantic at heart, and loved every minute of the entire month of February, and wanted a Valentine's Day of epic proportions. Nick hated that he really didn't want to comply.

"So do you have something special planned for that as well?" Brian cooed once again. "I know I have something extra special for my baby."

Nick sighed. He had nothing planned. Nothing at all. And that was going to break Brian's heart. He knew he had to do something, and fast. He fell into a restless sleep trying to figure out what he was going to do.

* * *

He flopped onto AJ's couch and sighed. He didn't know what he was going to do, and he didn't know if AJ was the right person to help him figure out what he was going to do. He gave an exasperated sigh. "Aje, man, you have got to help me. I'm at my wit's end. I'm so totally fucking confused."

AJ came out with a bottle of water in his hand and pushed Nick's legs off the couch so he could sit down onto it. "What the fuck are you even talking about, man?" he took a sip of his water.

"Valentine's Day, Aje. Valentine's Day," he gave another exasperated, exaggerated sigh and continued, "I hate the shitty day, but Brian? Brian fucking loves it. I don't know why, but he does. And apparently he has this huge fucking thing planned for us and I have nothing, because I hate the stupid holiday. So you gotta help me out."

"Well," AJ thought about it earnestly, "What does Brian like? You can always get him something like that, and maybe even cook him dinner or something."

Nick glared. "Me? Cook?"

"There's always recipes man. I know you know how to read," AJ said with a slight snicker. "Go on the internet, see what catches your eye, but don't make it too crazy. What about something southern? I'm sure Brian would appreciate something that reminds him of back home. We all appreciate something that reminds us of back home."

Nick thought about it for a second. "Can I borrow your laptop man?"

"Of course," he smiled.

* * *

Nick sighed as he tossed yet another burnt steak into the trash and nearly threw the recipe printout across the kitchen. "Fuck this recipe. Fuck this holiday. Fuck everything."

Brian heard the commotion and walked into the kitchen. "Nicky, what are you even doing in here?"

Nick's eyes shot open and he whirled around. "Brian!"

"You gonna answer me?" he asked, but had a slight smirk in his eyes.

"Um, well, I..." he stammered. "I guess I was trying to work on your Valentine's Day surprise. But I wasn't doing a good job at it."

Brian's eyes widened. "But Nicky, you don't cook. You'd do that... for me?" Nick also swore that Brian's eyes were sparkling.

"Of course I would," Nick half smiled, "I mean, Valentine's Day is about going out of your way for the one you love, isn't it? Now, shoo before you ruin the surprise further." And he quickly rushed Brian out of the kitchen before sitting at the table, his face in his hands. Before he talked to Brian, trying to learn to cook was making him hate Valentine's Day even more, because even when he did have someone special, he was just failing at it. But the look in Brian's eyes, the way his face lit up when he learned Nick was going out his comfort zone for him... well he could get used to that look. He could get used to making a big deal out of this silly little holiday if it meant seeing Brian's face like that annually.

Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad, after all.

* * *

The scent of southern fried steak filled the air of the kitchen. Nick was damn proud of himself and grinned profusely as he took the steaks out of the pan and put them on a serving plate. After he was done with that, he stirred the mashed potatoes and vegetables before putting them in dishes as well and put everything on the table. He lit a couple candles and set Brian's present on his seat. He hoped Brian would like it.

Brian walked into the house. "My, what smells good in here?" he walked into the kitchen, having followed the smell. "Is that… holy moly those are southern fried steaks. That's what you were trying to cook the other day?"

Nick smiled and nodded. "Happy Valentine's Day?"

Brian kissed him. "Thank you baby. I still can't believe you went through all this."

Nick cleared his throat. "To be honest, neither can I. I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to pull this off because, well, Valentine's Day hasn't been the best holiday for me, so I had given up on it. But when you were so excited about it, I was determined to do something special for you. Cause I knew how much today means to you."

Brian wrapped his arms around him and kissed him once more. "Thank you again. And if you would have told me, we could have done something totally low key. I would have been okay with that too."

Nick laughed. "That's a lie and you know it. You would have settled for it, but you wouldn't have been okay with it. And besides, I had fun learning. Now c'mon, please tell me I did a good job! Or at least followed the recipe correctly."

"Sounds like a plan."


End file.
